Chapelfield Vets - Norwich

It's the staff here that make it a great place to get my dog treated. They greet my dog with familiarity and friendliness (and me too!). They also went above and beyond to help me and my dog recently which I really appreciated. I use the monthly pet plan to reduce costs on medication, jabs and appointments. Yes this is on top of my insurance, but it's worth it as my dog needs regular appointments due to a heart condition. I also like that I can see the same vet (Doctor Tom) as it makes my dog at ease seeing the same person (he's very anxious).

The team at Chapelfield Vets are terrific. My dog is quite nervous and they always go out of their way to make sure that she is ok. It's obvious how much they care about their patients and I really appreciate their expertise and friendly attitude.

The best vets by far, my dog actually loves going to the vets.

Excellent service today for my cockapoo, Jake. Eliza the vet always gives her time generously to make sure that she gives the best possible care. The reception staff are friendly and efficient.

My cats managed to break into the snacks and ate some cookies, I rang the vets and Emma answered straight away (midday on a Saturday) and couldn’t have been more helpful. She wasn’t judgemental or patronising and every silly question I had she popped me on hold to check with the vet which I really appreciated. Managed to supply them some charcoal and instructions straight away and really calmed my anxiety. I also spoke to man when I got there who I presume is the vet and he was equally kind and patient. My first vet experience and im super happy we chose this vet!

Took my cat yesterday as shes been poorly. Usually go to wymondham but it was urgent. The vet was lovely and another light haired receptionist. We had to put our baby to sleep. On arrival the dark haired receptionist was one of the most rude, unfriendly people ive had the displeasure of hearing. She spoke to my partner like ☆☆☆t. We were already struggling as worried for our cat. Luckily afterwards I didnt have to speak to her. The vet was respectful. To the owners/ share holders...give your receptionists training in emotional intelligence and kindness. They represent you at the front door and frankly that woman is not helping you!

Overall, most of the vets I encountered were good, but unfortunately they tend not to discuss the prices of medication. At the previous surgery I used to go to with my dog, I was always asked which option I preferred: getting a prescription and buying the medicine elsewhere for a lower price, or buying it directly from them for a higher price. We would usually check prices and calculate the difference. Here, I was given eye drops for £35 that actually cost less than £10 without any prescription. One vet was in a rush and didn’t ask me about or explain the available options. Another vet I saw later also simply suggested adding the drops to the bill. The first time, I didn’t double-check and went ahead with it — I know that’s partly on me — but I’m used to being informed about prices. Vet surgeries in the UK are extremely expensive, so I’m also used to vets being mindful of costs and trying not to overcharge clients. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that experience here with some vets. I should say that the first vet I saw for a different issue was wonderful and very considerate of costs, but I was disappointed with some of the other visits.

My dog had his toe removed due to suspected cancer in January at the Norwich branch. Healing time was supposed to be 2-3 weeks. The aftercare that followed was horrendous. My poor boy was sent home with a necrotic wound site with stitches separating on the Wednesday (5 days after the surgery). All that was offered was a swab to determine whether he was receiving the correct antibiotics, which would have taken 48 hours for results anyway. I brought him back 38 hours later on the Friday, and he was immediately taken from me for a second surgery, within 8 minutes of his appointment- I was slapped with another £1500 bill after already paying £2500 for the first one AND everything else leading to this point. All in all, it cost over £5k for a simple operation. My dog was re-stitched and after the correct time, the stitches were removed. I was told I was allowed to walk my dog and after a gentle 10 minute walk, the site had reopened. I then had to use manuka honey and wrap my dog’s foot everyday for weeks until it healed through secondary intention. I read in my dog’s notes that he had developed a pocket defect due to no internal stitches being placed during the second surgery, again no responsibility taken by chapelfield. This was absolute misery for me and my dog. I had to take so much time off work to keep him rested and calm to heal and correct chapelfield’s repeated failures. My dog is a bullmastiff and at 8, he is considered a senior dog. A second operation could have been avoided with the correct aftercare and listening to my concerns. I raised multiple concerns, wrote complaints, had my intelligence questioned. When I queried a simple bill regarding my insurance, I was asked ‘if I’d ever worked in finance.’ To which I responded I actually have and I was in fact correct after sitting down and explaining it to the finance woman. I was told we had a particular bandage change free of charge for a ‘good will gesture’, but this was not the case- I had to pay for this out of the money that was owed to me from my insurance company, again all proven with paperwork and payment lists. During my dog’s first operation, they charged for a nail trim that didn’t take place- they tried to deny this and tell me my dog’s nails had grown quickly in one week between the first and second operation. (They cut his nails FOR FREE during the second operation to try and cover it) I had photos of his toenails before and after surgery, still no one listened and they told me I couldn’t prove this. All my complaints were overturned and my poor, sweet old dog suffered for months at the hands of chapelfield vets. I was told by Chapelfield to go to a vet mediator to resolve the issues, and to be honest after all the heart ache and stress- I no longer had any fight left in me, which is exactly what they knew! The up side to this review is that the reception staff were always lovely. Karen always had treats for my boy and Kerry was sad to see us move to another vets especially as Frank was a very regular patient December25-March26. Unfortunately, due to most of the vets at the practise (Thomas Painter is the only decent one) my dog was butchered and became so unwell/depressed at points, I had to seriously consider the possibility of putting him down. Which as you can imagine, destroyed my mental health at the thought of losing my beloved fur baby (who has seen me through some of the worst time of my life) and devastated my kids. Luckily, with my undivided attention and care- my dog got better! The only thing I could do is move my dog to another vets and hope and pray we are never treated this way again. If you love your animals, do NOT take them to ‘butcher’field vets!